The Canadian men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Estonia Wednesday in an exhibition match played out in a brutal snowstorm in Tallinn.

Under normal circumstances, a loss to Estonia, ranked No. 129 in the world by FIFA, would count as a major source of embarrassment for Canada (No. 62), but Wednesday's game was anything but normal. Snow poured down on the field throughout the entire game, leading to very slippery conditions and making it virtually impossible for players to make accurate passes and maintain possession.

The downpour was so bad that groundskeepers tried to clear the field of the dreaded white stuff prior to the kickoff, but to no avail — as mounds were piled up on the sidelines, more snow continued to fall down and covered the field in a white blanket.

After a goalless first half, Estonia broke the deadlock in the 60th minute when it scored an own-goal. Paul Stalteri failed to properly deal with an Estonian cross into the box delivered from the right wing, as the ball went off the Canadian defender's shoulder and into the net past goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld.

The Canadians tried to press for the equalizer, but Estonia defended its lead and then added a second goal with a minute left in regulation time when Vjatseslav Zahovaiko beat the offside trap and then rounded Hirschfeld before slotting the ball home.

Canada lost 2-1 to Estonia in Tallinn on March 29, 2003 in the only other meeting between these two countries.

Canada's next friendly is against Panama on June 6 in Panama City. That game will act as a tune-up for Canada, who plays Saint Vincent & the Grenadines nine days later in it first qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

- from CBC
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Here's hoping we can handle St. Vincent and the Grenadines in World Cup qualifying!

I understand that, but we as soccer fans know the rankings mean very little. We also know that any away game is difficult, especially when you're playing on a different continent. I don't think it's unreasonable that Canadian media have at least a tiny bit of a grasp of this.

FIFA standings don't say much about the real strength of North American teams but on paper Canada definitely looked like a better team compared to Estonia . We missed several of our best players and to be honest I'm surprised we managed to win it. Maybe we simply wanted it more as it was the first home match under the new coach and the players were eager to prove themselves.

BTW your players were hardcore, they played without gloves and long underpants unlike most of the Estonians

Big games are easy than the other games, unfortunately. Every times we have the control the games, under the control the games, during the games we had the some possibilities, some big chances, some big okazyons, something like that but what can I do, sometimes? And….it’s the football, that’s the football, something happened. Everything is something happened. - Fatih Terim

It's a gross exaggeration to say that FIFA rankings "mean very little". They are not foolproof as we all know, but they are based on past performance, and they do provide at least a basis for a rough comparison.

Certainly a team ranked 62 would be justly favoured to beat a team ranked 67 places lower on the list, and it's not at all unreasonable to suggest that losing to such a team is an embarrassment.

The further down the rankings you get the less they mean. Two or three wins makes you jump 30 spots. I saw Croatia play Estonia twice and have obviously seen Canada play. Sure, Canada is a better team but to play away at Estonia, a draw is a good result. Losing is certainly not embarassing.

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